A home warranty is a contract that agrees to provide a homeowner with discounted repair and replacement services. [1] However, the words "home warranty" are not always used explicitly to mean a legal warranty is being conveyed. In many cases, at least in the United States, a home warranty is not a warranty at all, but rather a home service contract that covers the repair and/or replacement costs of home appliances, major systems such as heating and cooling, and possibly other components of a home, structural or otherwise. Coverage varies significantly across home warranty companies.
Most companies cover plumbing, electrical, heating systems, as well as refrigerators, dishwashers, and Microwave ovens. Some charge additional coverage for appliances, such as clothes washers and clothes dryers. Home warranties exist to repair or replace old worn-out systems that have been properly cared for by the homeowner.
Many home warranty companies have limitations within their contracts. Some home warranty companies have an overall limit set, where anything in the contract is covered up to a certain amount of money.
Generally, home warranties exclude coverage on systems and appliances that have been misused, intentionally damaged, or not maintained.
Most home warranty contracts will state that repairs and replacements will not be covered if the problem was known prior to the date of coverage. [2] This is sometimes referred to as a known condition. Most often, homeowners run into this problem when purchasing a home. After getting a home inspection, some real estate agents will mistakenly tell the buyer that any problems found in the home inspection will be covered with a home warranty. Instead, if the home inspection notates that something needs to be repaired or replaced before the date of closing, most home warranties will not repair or replace it.
In some states, such as New Jersey [3] for example, builders of new homes are required to provide a home warranty to those purchasing homes. Though the terminology is identical, these home warranty plans differ from the ones offered to existing home owners or through real estate transactions involving the purchase of existing homes. The coverage may be very different from other similarly named agreements.
Home warranty is one of several terms for a contract between homeowners and companies that cover some of the costs associated with specific repairs and replacements of household objects. Related industries often use such terms as residential service contract and appliance warranty plan. Just as is the case with home warranty in states such as Florida, [4] residential service contracts are regulated in some states such as Texas. [5] It is of value for consumers to understand their state's regulations for companies that offer to provide maintenance or repair services and/or coverage for related costs since some companies may be operating without proper licensing. [1] Consumers may sometimes avoid falling prey to unlicensed companies by consulting their state's policies and other information regarding home warranty and similar services. In some cases, current lists of licensed companies are available for consumers to check on the applicable state government agencies' websites.
In NSW (Australia), a homeowners warranty must be taken out by your builder and a certificate of insurance must be provided to you if the value of work is over $20,000.
Some common complaints that home warranty clients have:
Home warranty companies deny systematic denial and claim that customers need to pay close attention to the contract. Warranty contracts specify that pre-existing conditions and problems arising due to lack of proper care and maintenance are not covered.
It is not too uncommon to find companies that open the business for a short period of time and then vanish. [6] Around 20 companies went out of business between 2013 and 2014. Buyers are encouraged to check the provider reviews and ratings of the companies selling the product. [7]
In some cases, companies operate in jurisdictions without the required licensing or registration. [8] [1] [9]
The National House Building Council, usually known as the NHBC, states its primary purpose as raising the construction standards of new homes in the United Kingdom (UK), and providing consumer protection for homebuyers through its 10-year Buildmark warranty.
This aims to be a complete list of the articles on real estate.
In the United States, a car dealership is a business that sells cars. A car dealership can either be a franchised dealership selling new and used cars, or a used car dealership, selling only used cars. In most cases, dealerships provide car maintenance and repair services as well as trade-in, leasing, and financing options for customers.
Home insurance, also commonly called homeowner's insurance, is a type of property insurance that covers a private residence. It is an insurance policy that combines various personal insurance protections, which can include losses occurring to one's home, its contents, loss of use, or loss of other personal possessions of the homeowner, as well as liability insurance for accidents that may happen at the home or at the hands of the homeowner within the policy territory.
An extended warranty, sometimes called a service agreement, a service contract, or a maintenance agreement, is a prolonged warranty offered to consumers in addition to the standard warranty on new items. The extended warranty may be offered by the warranty administrator, the retailer or the manufacturer. Extended warranties cost extra and for a percentage of the item's retail price. Occasionally, some extended warranties that are purchased for multiple years state in writing that during the first year, the consumer must still deal with the manufacturer in the occurrence of malfunction. Thus, what is often promoted as a five-year extended guarantee, for example, is actually only a four-year guarantee.
In contract law, a warranty is a contractual assurance given by a seller to a buyer, for example confirming that the seller is the owner of the property being sold. A warranty is a term of a contract, but not usually a condition of the contract or an innominate term, meaning that it is a term "not going to the root of the contract", and therefore only entitles the innocent party to damages if it is breached, i.e. if the warranty is not true or the defaulting party does not perform the contract in accordance with the terms of the warranty. A warranty is not a guarantee: it is a mere promise. It may be enforced if it is breached by an award for the legal remedy of damages.
Property insurance provides protection against most risks to property, such as fire, theft and some weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance, or boiler insurance. Property is insured in two main ways—open perils and named perils.
Water damage describes various possible losses caused by water intruding where it will enable attack of a material or system by destructive processes such as rotting of wood, mold growth, bacteria growth, rusting of steel, swelling of composite woods, de-laminating of materials such as plywood, short-circuiting of electrical devices, etc.
Closing costs are fees paid at the closing of a real estate transaction. This point in time called the closing is when the title to the property is conveyed (transferred) to the buyer. Closing costs are incurred by either the buyer or the seller.
A service plan is a contract to purchasers of products for an additional fee. While service plans resemble extended warranties, there are several important differences between the two, often cited by retailers that sell them.
Lemon laws are laws that provide a remedy for purchasers of cars and other consumer goods in order to compensate for products that repeatedly fail to meet standards of quality and performance. Although many types of products can be defective, the term "lemon" is mostly used to describe defective motor vehicles, such as cars, trucks, and motorcycles.
The term replacement cost or replacement value refers to the amount that an entity would have to pay to replace an asset at the present time, according to its current worth.
The Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act is a United States federal law. Enacted in 1975, the federal statute governs warranties on consumer products. The law does not require any product to have a warranty, but if it does have a warranty, the warranty must comply with this law. The law was created to fix problems as a result of manufacturers using disclaimers on warranties in an unfair or misleading manner.
Tarion, formerly known as the Ontario New Home Warranty Program, is a not-for-profit consumer protection organization established by the Government of Ontario in 1976 to administer the province’s new home warranty program. It is financed entirely by new home enrolment fees.
A vehicle breakdown is a mechanical or electrical failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that the underlying problem prevents the vehicle from being operated or impedes the vehicle's operation so significantly that it is very difficult, nearly impossible, or else dangerous to operate.
Business licenses are permits issued by government agencies that allow individuals or companies to conduct business within the government's geographical jurisdiction. It is the authorization to start a business issued by the local government. A single jurisdiction often requires multiple licenses that are issued by multiple government departments and agencies. Business licenses vary between countries, states, and local municipalities. There are often many licenses, registrations and certifications required to conduct a business in a single location.
The California Department of Insurance (CDI), established in 1868, is the agency charged with overseeing insurance regulations, enforcing statutes mandating consumer protections, educating consumers, and fostering the stability of insurance markets in California. The CDI has authority over how the insurance industry conducts business within California, and licenses and regulates the rates and practices of insurance companies, agents, and brokers in the state.
Mercury General Corporation is a multiple-line insurance organization offering personal automobile, homeowners, renters and business insurance. Founded in 1961 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Mercury has assets in excess of $4 billion, employs 4,500 people and has more than 8,000 independent agents in 11 states.
A spare part, spare, service part, repair part, or replacement part, is an interchangeable part that is kept in an inventory and used for the repair or refurbishment of defective equipment/units. Spare parts are an important feature of logistics engineering and supply chain management, often comprising dedicated spare parts management systems.
American Home Shield Corporation is an American home warranty company based in Memphis, Tennessee. It administers home warranty contracts on major home systems and appliances.